A Handbook for Tailoring Craftsmanship Industries
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Proceedings A Handbook for Tailoring Craftsmanship Industries. Communicate the Intangible Values of Traditional † Methods through Images Maria D’Uonno Department of Architecture and Industrial Design, Università degli Studi Della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81031 Aversa, Italy; [email protected]; Tel.: +39-333-7194-733 † Presented at the International and Interdisciplinary Conference IMMAGINI? Image and Imagination between Representation, Communication, Education and Psychology, Brixen, Italy, 27–28 November 2017. Published: 20 November 2017 Abstract: For centuries, Neapolitan tailors—as many others—have been verbally transmitting their technical know-how to their younger apprentices, who were later to become masters themselves in an arguably uninterrupted cycle. My prime focus is to provide contemporary tailors with a method to pursue this goal, which is one compatible with modern tailoring production processes. Is it possible for an illustrated tailoring handbook to take care of the lack of time, that was once a necessary ingredient to the successful transmission of traditional Neapolitan tailoring rules? Manuale di Sartoria Kiton is the result of my thesis project, discussed at the end of my MA in Visual and Communication Design at IUAV University of Venice, in 2015. The thesis project is focused on Kiton tailoring company, based in Naples. During my internship at Kiton, I had the opportunity to document the company’s tailoring methods. According to my thesis, the images contained in a tailoring manual can be used as ideal mediums to turn intangible slow-training phases into tangible objects, virtually always available for future reference. The proposed handbook therefore carefully illustrates the Neapolitan bespoke jacket sewing process, with both technical and descriptive drawings. Thus, images serve as a communication tool and a visual aid for the masters and their apprentices, allowing to overcome even occasional language barriers. Keywords: Heritage; craftsmanship; know-how; cognitive drawing; tradition; translation; illustrations 1. Introduction In Naples, tailoring companies are strongly linked to traditional Neapolitan craftsmanship. International firms like Kiton, Attolini, Cilento, Isaia, and Rubinacci arose like craftsman shops and only later turned into business companies. They were able to achieve this transition investing considerable resources in an attempt to preserve the craftsman know-how, combining innovation and traditional methods into a hybrid production chain. In this working environment machines operate alongside experienced tailors in order to ensure high quality standards while speeding up production. Kiton is the chosen case study as it represents the typical local craftsmanship industry. Founded by Ciro Paone in 1968 [1]. The company has different laboratories, one for each item of clothing. The jacket laboratory alone employs more than 300 tailors, divided into specialized groups and it is capable of producing 80 jackets in one day. Such a high number of tailors demand for many young apprentices ready to replace the old generation. To cope with this issue, Kiton started a short school program led by senior tailors where students undergo a two years training, primarily focusing on the jacket. Proceedings 2017, 1, 912; doi:10.3390/proceedings1090912 www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings Proceedings 2017, 1, 912 2 of 11 The tailoring notions were traditionally transmitted from one generation to the next through verbal teaching. Usually, the apprenticeship lasted between five and ten years. The senior tailor, usually called Masto, had to train the young apprentices—almost always children—into his workshop. How can we train tomorrow’s craftsmen without a real atelier experience? How can we give them a workshop expertise in a very short time? An illustrated handbook can be a valid tool for the beginners during their training as it can clearly show the main rules. Manuale di Sartoria Kiton (Figure 1). Figure 1. Manuale di Sartoria Kiton, the result of my thesis project, discussed at the end of my MA in Visual and Communication Design at IUAV University of Venice, in 2015. The project includes a historic Neapolitan tailoring background based on literature review, followed by an analysis of historic tailoring manuals and methodological observations. A professional internship at Kiton’s headquarters gave me the opportunity to gather information about their tailoring rules, the production chain organization and the aforementioned Kiton's tailoring school. 2. Brief History of Tailoring Craftsmanship in Naples By setting as its power values the extraordinary craftsmanship and the ability to realize high-quality products, Neapolitan tailoring gained worldwide fame, contributing to the success of the Made in Italy phenomenon that saw Italian fashion spreading into the world [2]. The history of Neapolitan tailoring starts in 1351 when the Confraternita dell’Arte dei Giubbonai e dei Cositori (Jacket Makers’ and Tailors’ Brotherhood) was founded. The main purpose of the brotherhood was to consolidate Neapolitan tailoring techniques. In 1611 the brotherhood recognised 607 tailors and gave them authorization to work in Regno delle Due Sicilie [3]. After the Unification of Italy, Raffaele Sardonelli and Filippo De Nicola established their own style based on the tailor’s skills and high-quality fabrics. Filippo’s heir, Adolfo after training in his father's workshop sets on a formative journey to England. Upon his return to Naples he inevitably started to merge English style—characterized by severe lines and thick lining—and Neapolitan typical creativity in his own creations. The results were precious outfits, characterized by pure lines that suited the aristocracy and high middle-class taste; to the point that Adolfo De Nicola was chosen as royal tailor by Vittorio Emanuele III during his kingdom [4]. At the beginning of XX century, new tailors came to light, carrying innovation to the established tailoring know-how. Peppino Miniello was the first tailor to experiment longer darts on the jacket’s front (Figure 2). Thanks to this feature, his jackets better followed the bodylines. This detail became one of the elements that still characterize the Neapolitan jacket today. Proceedings 2017, 1, 912 3 of 11 (a) (b) Figure 2. (a) long darts on the jacket’s front; (b) short darts on the jacket’s front. In 1887, Antonio Caggiula published L'arte del taglio. Libro per i maestri-sarti, the first Neapolitan tailoring manual. Inside the book, theoretical formulations are backed up by patterns (A pattern is the template from which the parts of a suit are traced onto fabric before being cut out and assembled.) and illustrations of current suits. The book became an important treaty and the Ministry of Education bought 300 copies that were sent to libraries and professional schools [4]. At the beginning of XX century Antonio Caggiula opened his own tailoring school, in which he has been an active teacher for almost 50 years. Angelo Blasi was another tailor that spent most of his the energy for Neapolitan tailoring movement, establishing in 1954 the association called Circolo Mediterraneo dei Sarti which had the same purpose of the above mentioned brotherhood. In 1956 the association’s press service La Voce dei Sarti published its first issue. However, the contemporary Neapolitan jacket owes its greatest innovations to the work of Vincenzo Attolini. The jacket revolution began when Vincenzo was employed as main cutter in the renowned London House tailoring workshop, in Naples. Before, the jacket appearance used to be austere and the lining (extra cotton layer, especially used in cold weathers) was applied according to the British tailor rules imported in Naples years ago. Attolini deconstructed the jacket taking off most of the lining, and designed the soft-tailored jacket, making his suits even more comfortable to wear. He also introduced distinctive Neapolitan jacket details, such as the typical soft shoulders called a mappina and the small oblique pocket on the chest called a barchetta (Figure 3). To date, Attolini’s second skin jacket is recognised by the vast majority of Neapolitan tailors as the modern jacket [5]. Proceedings 2017, 1, 912 4 of 11 Figure 3. Kiton’s tailoring school’s jacket. Arzano (NA) 16 October 2015. 3. The Last Generation of Workshop Trained Tailors Gianluca Migliarotti is a director and producer known for A Knife Life (2015), O'mast (2011) and Lino Sabattini (2010). The documentary O'mast is a collection of interviews made to the main representatives of Neapolitan tailoring today (Renato Ciardi, Pasquale Sabino, Antonio Panico, Ciro Palermo and Mariano Rubinacci among others). During the conversations, the tailors depict the typical tailor’s training experience in Naples. Between ’30s and ’70s, the training started in the family-run tailoring workshops when the apprentices were just children. The knowledge was transmitted from the Masto to his sons and apprentices. The training first step was the careful observation of the Masto at work: the apprentice had to understand how to properly handle fabrics and acquire a refined dexterity, then they could start to thread the needle and similar little works. Before starting to work on real jackets they were trained how to sew correctly on simple pieces of fabric. The lessons often took place after the workshop shut down, until late at night. Usually, the apprenticeship could last for as long as ten years. The training ended when the apprentice finally became